MG Rover has now clocked its second speeding offence this year with the Advertising Standards Authority.

The advertising watchdog has rapped the motor manufacturer over an advert for its cars which it said encouraged speed.

It is the second advert that the ASA has ordered MG to withdraw within 12 months.

In August, MG Rover was ordered to withdraw adverts for the company's latest Z series of saloons because it felt that they could encourage unsafe driving.

Extreme speed

Complaints were made against poster and national newspaper campaign, which showed a tilted car, against a blurred background with the headline "The full fat, high caffeine, maximum strength MG".

Below the MG logo at the bottom, the text stated "Life's too short not to".

The complainant, who believed the adverts conveyed a car travelling fast, objected that they placed too much emphasis on speed and encouraged unsafe driving.

The Authority agreed and said that the advert's background created the "feeling of extreme speed and that impression was compounded by the wheel spin in two of the three advertisements."

'No apology'

But John Sanders, group marketing director for MG Rover, said the company was "very disappointed" with the ASA's findings.

"We make no apology for the fact that the new MG range is faithful to the MG tradition of producing genuine sports cars.

"The advertising campaign does not talk about speed - it is designed to appeal to people who like the freedom to make their own choices and not to be dictated to by the current obsession with denying oneself the pleasures of life."

Mr Sanders said MG Rover would be discussing the ruling with the ASA "to try and understand better the basis of their judgement".